The Shadow's Strength
by Maddie316
Summary: Naruto, a misunderstood boy. Angry, sad, shocked. 'Who are you? W-why do you have nine tails' 'So many questions, little kit. I am Kurama, the Kyubi No Yoko, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox' Watch as Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto surpasses everyone and becomes the strongest ninja ever. Strong Naruto. Bashing, cursing, violence in the future. Rated M for safety. Slow steady story progress.


Hi! This is my first fanfic, so enjoy! PM me if you have a suggestion, comment, correction, question, or criticism.

"Hi"= Speaking

'Hi'=Thoughts

'_Hi. I'm gonna eat you'=_Demon thought/speech

A/N: Blah= Author's Note

**Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or any of its characters. Just my original characters and this story.**

Begin!

CH.1~A New Start

Pain.

That was all he felt right now. That was what he felt every day.

Confusion.

Just plain confusion. Why would they do this to him? What did he do wrong?

6 year-old Uzumaki Naruto grabbed harshly at the cold, hard concrete in a small alley, far from the Hokage Tower. His bright blonde hair was stained a dark, scary red. Every part of his body was cut, scraped, bruised, or burned in some horrible way. His clothes were soaked in his own blood.

3 hours ago, he was on his way home from his first day at the Ninja Academy. But then, a mob showed up with torches, and started beating him with kunai and glass. Even some Anbu that was supposed to guard him joined in. One drove some weird blue chakra towards his heart. It sounded like birds chirping. Another drove kunai through his hands and pinned him against the brick wall like a picture frame. Once they decided he was bloody enough for their liking, they left him on the ground to die. But before they left, an old woman shouted, "You deserved it, you demon! You took away everything from me, monster! In fact, why don't you just disappear? Nobody cares about you anyway!"

That last one stung.

Naruto then fainted from blood loss. Now, everybody thought he was just an annoying 'demon brat', who was oblivious to everything. That he was dumb, and always happy no matter what. That he was in love with Haruno Sakura, and he had zero to little chance of becoming a ninja. No, that was just a mask, a façade to hide his true self. He was actually calm and collected. He was very intelligent for his age. He just acted the other way to get attention. To try and make friends. To have people acknowledge him. Sure, sometimes, the mask was actually real. He was excited sometimes, or happy. Sometimes, the mask wasn't a mask. But most of the time, it was.

'I don't understand! Why do they do this to me? I didn't do anything wrong! I hate them! It's like a cruel joke. They beat me again and again, every day. I hate their cold eyes. They scream pure hate. I wish they would stop it. I WISH ALL MY PAIN WOULD JUST DISAPPEAR!' Naruto thought angrily.

Suddenly a loud roar came from behind him.

'_AHAHAHA, such a confused little human. You wish your pain would disappear? Foolish kit. Everyone has pain. It can't just disappear. Besides, I've been helping you. I've healed you from day one. Any normal person would have been dead by now.' _A huge orange fox, with evil red eyes and nine tails said. It was trapped behind bars though, with a weird seal on it. The fox was surrounded in a weird cloak of red chakra.

'Who are you? W-why do you have nine tails? And, why can you talk?' Naruto was a little scared and intimidated by the ginormous fox.

'_So many questions, little kit. I am Kurama, the Kyubi No Yoko, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox!' _Kyuubi boomed in a loud, proud voice.

'But the Fourth Hokage killed you! Why are you in my conscious?' Naruto was confused.

'_The Fourth Hokage couldn't kill the king of bijuu! So, he did the next best thing. He sealed me into you, his newborn son, at the cost of his life, and his wife's, Uzumaki Kushina._' Kurama growled grumpily.

Naruto was shocked, mad, and happy at the same time. Not only was the king of all tailed beasts sealed inside of him, but he was the Fourth's son! He had a family! He wasn't just a nameless orphan off the street. He was Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto! He was angry at his father though, for giving his son such a cruel fate. 'But the lady was right', Naruto thought sadly. 'I am a demon.'

'_Baka-kit. You are no demon. Hm, think of yourself as a jail. You hold the demon from hurting other people. If you think about it that way, you a hero! I'm a bijuu, a demon. You kid, are what we call a Jinchūriki. Someone who houses the bijuu_.' Kurama said, in a softer tone. He kind of felt bad for the kid. The kid has gone through a lot in his small childhood, enough to make a grown man insane. The only thing that kept him alive was his pure willpower and attitude to never give up.

Naruto brightened up considerably. Finally, someone who understands him! 'Thanks, I needed that! So Kyuu, can you train me? I want to be able to defend and prove myself. I want to be the strongest ninja ever!'

'_Considering what you've been through, because of me, sure. I don't want a weak container. Just no complaining, or else I'll double whatever you're complaining about_.' Kurama paused. '_Wait. Kyuu_?'

Naruto grinned and tugged at a piece of his hair, embarrassed. 'Uh, yeah! Kyuu! Since you call me kit, it's only fair that you have a nickname too. 'Cause we're friends now, right?'

Suddenly everything went dark.

'_Kyuu, huh_?' Kurama thought to himself. _'Friends? Hmm…_ _I kind of like the little kit._' Kyuubi grinned, then went back to sleep.

Naruto opened his eyes. It took a moment to refocus because he was out for so long. But he was so excited. He wasn't alone anymore. Because he had Kyuu. He shakily stood up. He slowly made his way to his apartment. It was midnight by the time he reached his door. He smiled, and then yelled.

"I can't wait! Everybody, get ready, 'cause Uzumaki Naruto is going to blow you away!"

Nobody knew how true those words were going to be.


End file.
